书名：M Is for Magic M代表魔法/魔是魔法的魔

难度：Lexile蓝思阅读指数880L
作者：Neil Gaiman尼尔·盖曼
出版社名称：HarperCollins
出版时间：2008
语种：英文
ISBN：9780061186479
商品尺寸：13 x 1.4 x 19.4 cm
包装：平装
页数：272
M Is for Magic《M代表魔法》是美国当代奇幻大师尼尔•盖曼首部针对青少年读者所编选的短篇故事集，全书共包括10部短篇小说。在《M代表魔法》中，尼尔·盖曼坦率讲述短篇的魅力，它们能穷尽世界的尽头，却又须臾回到现实。《二十四只黑鸫案》，他以熟知的人物以及离奇的情节，向《鹅妈妈童谣》致敬；《别问杰克》，八音盒一样，会弹跳出来的杰克玩具，记住了每一个人的忧伤往事，月光一样淡，却不能忘怀；而《太阳鸟》，究竟是人所不能追的梦，要付出燃尽的代价。

《M代表魔法》，所有的字母都有魔力，你可以用它们创造魔法、梦想，甚至惊喜。

精彩书评：
“我们何其幸运，可以拥有盖曼这样一座现成的故事宝库……他的作品之丰富，文字之出色，读来叫人既感妙不可言，又觉悚然而惊。”——斯蒂芬·金

”当你全身心沉浸到尼尔·盖曼的世界里，你会发现，一切皆有可能……他拥有一流的创造力，他从不遵循一致的规则，他随心所欲，惟追随梦想而写作。”——《娱乐周刊》
Master storyteller Neil Gaiman presents a breathtaking collection of tales for younger readers that may chill or amuse, but that always embrace the unexpected:
Humpty Dumpty’s sister hires a private detective to investigate her brother’s death；
A teenage boy who has trouble talking to girls finds himself at a rather unusual party；
A boy raised in a graveyard makes a discovery, and confronts the much more troubling world of the living.

尼尔·盖曼（Neil Gaiman），欧美文坛新一代幻想文学大师，文学魔术界的精灵王子，畅销小说作家，无数奖项的获得者。他集记者、诗人、词作者、编剧和导演于一身，将想象、趣味与智慧完美结合，被《文学传记辞典》誉为十大后现代作家之一。

他二十七岁开始文学创作，卓越的才华很快为其赢得了许多殊荣。《睡神》系列的《仲夏夜之梦》一举赢得了世界奇幻奖。之后的《美国众神》可谓幻想类文学的奇葩，先后获得雨果奖、星云奖及布拉姆·斯托克奖，成为了盖曼的代表作。源源不断的灵感赋予了他更大的创作热情，此后，《卡罗琳》和《绿字的研究》两获雨果奖，前者也再度问鼎布拉姆·斯托克奖。
如今，尼尔·盖曼更是好莱坞的宠儿和许多制片人眼中的金童。其作品很多都被搬上了银幕，《蜘蛛男孩》《镜面具》《乌有乡》《星尘》等皆有不俗反响。正是像尼尔·盖曼这样的说故事大师，让原本昙花一现的故事元素有了不断的轮回，有了绵亘的新生。
Neil Gaiman is theNew York Timesbestselling author of the novels Neverwhere,Stardust,AmericanGods,Coraline,AnansiBoys,TheGraveyardBook, and GoodOmens (with Terry Pratchett); the Sandman series of graphic novels; and the story collections Smoke and Mirrors and Fragile Things. He is the winner of numerous literary honors, including the Hugo, Bram Stoker, and World Fantasy Awards, and the Newbery Medal. Originally from England, he now lives in America.
Introduction

The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds二十四只黑鸫案
Troll Bridge怪物之桥
Don’t Ask Jack别问杰克
How to Sell the Ponti Bridge怎样卖掉庞迪桥
October in the Chair十月坐在椅子上
Chivalry骑士精神
The Price代价
How to Talk to Girls at Parties聚会上怎样搭讪美眉
Sunbird太阳鸟
The Witch’s Headstone女巫的墓石
Instructions

I inspected my nails, then looked up at her face. Taking in a handful of waist and several curves on the way up. She was a looker, although her cute nose was a little on the shiny side. “I’ll take the case. Seventy-five a day and two hundred bonus for results:
She smiled; my stomach twisted around once and went into orbit. “You get another two hundred if you get me those photographs. I want to be a nurse real bad.” Then she dropped three fifties on my desktop.
I let a devil-may-care grin play across my rugged face. Say, sister, how about letting me take you out for dinner? I just came into some money.”
She gave an involuntary shiver of anticipation and muttered something about having a thing about midgets so I knew L was onto a good thing. Then she gave me a lopsided smile that would have made Albert Einstein drop a decimal point. First find my brothers killer, Mr. Homer. And my photographs. Then we can play.”
There are parts of town the tourist board doesn’t mention. Parts of town where the police travel in threes if they travel at all. In my line of work you get to visit them more than is healthy. Healthy is never.
He was waiting for me outside Luigi’s. I slid up behind him, my rubber-soled shoes soundless on the shiny wet sidewalk.
“Cock Robin is good enough for me, Cock. Who killed Humpty Dumpty?”
He was a strange-looking bird, but you can’t be choosy in my profession. He was the best underworld lead I had.
Let’s see the color of your money. I showed him a fifty.